China’s top HK official says security will ensure city’s success

HONG KONG - China’s top official for Hong Kong affairs said the city needs to prioritise national security to ensure prosperity.

The China-imposed national security law helped Hong Kong maintain its status as an international financial hub,

Mr Xia Baolong

, director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office in Beijing, said on June 21 on his third trip to the semi-autonomous city in three years. 

 “Profound changes are occurring inside and outside Hong Kong. It is necessary to fully implement the ‘one country, two systems’ principle, guided by national security, to provide favourable safety protection for achieving better development of Hong Kong,” Mr Xia told a government forum marking the fifth anniversary of Beijing’s implementation of the 2020 national security law, which silenced dissent in the once-freewheeling territory.

His comments build on China’s emphasis on national security in recent years,

after massive pro-democracy protests roiled the former British colony in 2019

. A continuing crackdown on perceived threats and the introduction of supporting legislation has stifled political dissent and led to the imprisonment of dozens of former activists.

Earlier in June, Beijing’s national security office in the city carried out its

first known joint operation with local police

to investigate a case of alleged foreign collusion. In the same week,

the authorities invoked a security law to ban a Taiwanese-made video game

they accused of advocating overthrowing the government.

Mr Xia’s speech at the forum represents the most public appearance he has made during his five-day trip that began on June 18, which has included meetings with political and business leaders.

He also held discussions with university presidents earlier in the week, in a move seen as reinforcing Beijing’s vision for Hong Kong as an innovation and talent hub.

Appointed as Beijing’s top man in Hong Kong in 2020, Mr Xia’s tenure has seen growing integration between the Asian financial hub with the rest of China. He has urged the city to accelerate the development of its so-called Northern Metropolis, a sprawling area bordering the mainland city of Shenzhen.

Mr Xia’s visit comes as Hong Kong grapples with economic headwinds, buffeted by a slowing Chinese economy and a prolonged property slump. The city is also caught in the crossfire of the US-China trade war, with tariffs imposed by the Trump administration now applying to Hong Kong-made goods, further blurring the lines between the city and mainland China.

Still, some observers argue Hong Kong could paradoxically gain from the deteriorating US-China relationship. Having declared the city “over” in February 2024, former Morgan Stanley Asia chairman Stephen Roach said recently that the territory may benefit because of its unique position as China’s most important window to international finance. BLOOMBERG